Fivio Foreign Defends Drill Rap As NYPD Blames Music For ‘Inflaming’ Gun Violence

New York, N.Y. – Fivio Foreign recently attended meetings at the The Palm in New York City to discuss the future of drill music on the radio amid the genre being silenced over violent lyrics, with Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson and Pop Smoke’s mom among those getting together to discuss the topic.

On his way out of the building, Fivio Foreign spoke to TMZ about drill music being a positive outlet for artists coming out of the hood.

“This the drill community and I know the police and everybody be looking at n-ggas like, ‘N-ggas be starting trouble,’” he said. “And n-ggas ain’t really starting trouble, they just trying to feed their kids. They trying to take away the drill music off the radio. They trying to stop it from being on the radio … It’s not the music that’s killing people. It’s the music that’s helping n-ggas from the hood get out the hood. You feel me? So, we need that. You take that from n-ggas, n-ggas gon’ be in the hood killing each other and going crazy on each other.”

He also addressed prosecutors using rap lyrics as evidence in court, while comparing lyrics to film scripts.

“To me, that shit don’t make no sense because there’s n-ggas out there that don’t even write their own music. So if you going to indict us and light n-ggas up off their music, then that means you gotta go lock Denzel [Washington] up for being a bad cop in Training Day. You gotta hold n-ggas accountable too. You can’t just target n-ggas ’cause n-ggas making music and they feel like that’s the lowest form of entertainment. ‘Why they rich? Why they buying these cars? Why they got this much…?’ I don’t fuck with that.”

Fivio Foreign’s comments arrive just days after NYPD Deputy Chief Joseph Gulotta linked drill music to the city’s recent gun violence.

“The music definitely inflames the situation,” he told New York Daily News. “But these are gang shootings. I think sometimes rap and the lyrics ignite, cause some issues. But I don’t think that’s the underlying motive at the end of the day. These are ongoing gang disputes in the same geographical area. Can they be connected? They sure could.”

He continued, “These are longstanding beefs between these groups and they’re right there on top of each other. They’ll talk about what they’re going to do. They’ll talk about the past. You’ve got all kinds of crazy alliances with these gangs. You’ve got Crips that align with Folk. A lot of this deals with geography and where you live. We’re very concerned about the level of violence.”

In January, JAY-Z was joined by Meek Mill, Big Sean, Fat Joe, Yo Gotti, Killer Mike, Kelly Rowland and Robin Thicke in urging New York lawmakers to pass a bill that would prevent rap songs being used as evidence of alleged crimes.